Secret
by Mareo and Anime
Summary: The D.E.O grudgingly asks for help from the team. So... how does this lead to a girl? Wanna find out?
1. Part of the problem

Secret

Ok, this storyline is based on _Young Justice_, or at least the start is, but I'm twisting into a TT story. OK?

Just so no-one's gonna try and get me for not having said this, here it goes: (In Monotone Voice) I do not own Teen Titans or Young Justice, nor shall I ever own them.

* * *

Strangely enough, Starfire answered it, much to their annoyance. 

The call came as Starfire was absent-mindedly looking through a cookbook she had found in the cupboard under the sink, lightly wondering how it was so different from her own cooking. She glanced up in slight surprise at the icon of a telephone on the big screen. It was early Sunday morning, so she was still in her pyjamas. She put the book beside her on the couch and stood up, lightly rubbing her eye as a small yawn escaped her.

"Yes, may I assist you?" she asked, pressing the button on the console to accept the call. The icon was replaced by an image of a serious looking man in'Agent-Smith' attire, with two serious parting on either sides of his hair.

"Teen Ti-" He started, but, looking over Starfire, stopped, a puzzled look crossing his face. He turned his head to bark angrily at someone off screen, and then turned back to her patiently waiting face. "Is this Titans Tower?"

"Indeed it is." She nodded, smiling up at the hard-faced man.

"Are you sure? You don't look like a Titan." He said bluntly, looking her up and down as if inspecting her, taking in the pink floral pyjamas. Starfire frowned slightly, feeling insulted, but didn't let it show as she said,

"Forgive my lack of formal clothing, but it is unusual to receive messages of urgency at this time of day. What is it that you wish to discuss?"

"No offence," he said with a tone meaning the exact opposite. "But I'd rather talk with the leader of the Titans."

"Speaking." Starfire turned round to face the door as Robin walked in, thankfully, the officer thought, in full uniform.

"Right then." He said, obviously warming up to a big speech. "I represent an organisation called D.E.O, the-"

"The Department of Extranormal Operations, I've heard of you." Interrupted Robin, traversing round the couch to stand directly in front of the screen. (Starfire had resumed her cookbook reading, curled up in the niche of the sofa cushions.)

"Erm, Right…" He blinked, thrown off track by this. "And, well, to put it simply… We need your help." His eye twitched invisibly, except to Robin's highly trained eyes.

"Eeeeeeeeuagh…" A long yawn echoed from the back of the room. The three present glanced round to see a dishevelled Beast-boy, sloppily dressed in his nightwear, consisting of yellow boxers and a vest, leaning slightly on the open doorway and rubbing his eyes with a free hand. "What's…? What's goin' on?" He asked, opening his bleary eyes wide, trying to get them to focus. He growled to himself, closing and rubbing his eyes with a forefinger and thumb, muttering "(I hate it when…)" He re-opened his eyes and clearly saw the confused and slightly disgusted face on the view screen.

"Another one of your _team_?" The major (for that was what he was.) said, squinting slightly at the changeling, who made a beeline for the fridge. Literally.

"Yes…" Robin said, slightly embarrassed at this situation. He turned back to the screen as Beast Boy buzzed noisily. "You were saying?"

"Yes." He continued. "The D.E.O regrets to inform you that your city is in serious danger."

"(What, again?)" Beast-boy muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes by the fridge where he leant sipping a bottle of water, but paying attention all the same.

"From what?" Robin asked.

"Unfortunately, the danger is from one of our own lab test subjects. We have been containing it for the past sixteen years, in an airtight containment unit, trying to study it, to learn about it, but, just recently, it's…" He looked away slightly, seemingly embarrassed.

"Escaped?" Robin suggested, nodding his head slightly.

"(Beast-boy,)" Whispered Starfire, motioning for him to come over. "(Could you perchance help me in deciphering these instructions?)"

"(Sure thing.)" He said, glancing at the major and walking over to her.

"The subject is made of a gaseous substance, and can take on any form, altering its toxicity at will." The major explained. "When it escaped, it took three of our scientists' lives."

"So, what do you want _us_ to do?" Robin asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. ("When it says 'eggs', what species is the book referring to? Look…") "Capture? Destroy? Distract?"

"Just capture, not destroy, as it can still be tested back at our facility. We will be handing over to you a portable container unit, in which you should be able to contain the creature." The major replied, motioning with a free hand to someone off-screen. ("Where? Oh yeah… Well, it usually means chicken eggs, or something like it. Nothing too rare or you'd have loads of laws comin' down on ya'. As long as you don't put them anywhere near my mouth, I'm fine.") Another person, a private, handed the major a transparent cylinder, at least two litres in volume with steel caps on either end.

Robin lowered his head slightly, weighing up the odds and the strength of his team. Starfire (his first priority) seemed invulnerable to Earth toxins and such, Cyborg could easily filter the toxins from his systems, he doubted whether the demon side of Raven would allow for death, and Beast-boy was… He was jokingly going to think expendable, but, thinking about it, he could most likely transform to escape if worst came to worst. After all, Plasmus himself was walking toxic waste…

"Alright then." He nodded slightly, glancing at the pair behind him. ("Ah, I thought as much. I _did_ plan on using Silkie's eggs if-")

"Dude!" Beast-boy grimaced, stepping sharply away from Starfire. "That's just wrong-!" He cut himself off, and then glanced towards Robin and the major, who held equally confused looks. "He-heh…" He laughed nervously, tugging at the collar of his vest. "Sorry, different topic…" Starfire giggled slightly at the awkwardness of the situation.

* * *

"So let me just clear things up:" Cyborg said as they drove down the main road of the city in the T-car, looking for any signs of the creature. "First of all, we've got to find a creature that could be anywhere, or invisible, take it on, despite the fact we could do little to no damage to it, and capture the whole changing mass of it in that teeny-tiny tube?" He jabbed his thumb at a large contraption Cyborg had rigged up, in which the canister was sitting. 

"Yep." Robin replied, glancing out of the passenger side window.

"Alrighty. Just wanted to know where I stand." He added cheerfully, checking the side mirrors before taking a corner. They had all agreed to go in the T-car as it was airtight, and they didn't want to risk anyone by exposing them to it prematurely.

"Dude, how can you be so calm?" Beast boy asked from the back, feeling slightly awkward at being trapped between the two girls in the small space. "Even some of my strongest changes can't stand up to toxic air! Like my gorilla- watch!" Before anyone could protest, he shape-shifted into a gorilla. A full-grown green gorilla. This resulted in four things: 1. Starfire and Raven were crushed against the windows of the car, 2. Beast boy smashed his head into the roof of the car, denting the metal, 3. Cyborg and Robin's seats were forced forward, pinning them, and 4. The car's suspension gave out, collapsing to a halt in the middle of the road.

A beat.

"BEAST BOY!" Four angry, yet muffled voices yelled.

"Oops…" he laughed when as he changed back, shrinking down in his seat. However, just before the reprimanding could begin;

HNRRROAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!

The coffee shop they had passed moments before exploded outwards in a cloud of glass, steel and concrete shrapnel. Their quarrel forgotten in an instant, they piled out of the car and assumed tactical formation, battle ready. A large shape loomed out of the dust cloud…

No…

The large shape _was_ the dust cloud! Two huge hands, each with three glass-sharp claws thrust themselves away from each side of the main cloud as a gaping tear ripped itself open in the middle of the cloud, each razor edged and dripping with condensation. Two thin slits opened above this, glowing a brilliant ruby as a long, slick tongue whipped out from its gaping mouth as it bellowed ferociously at the team.

"…Ok, seriously? Ew!" Beast Boy summed up, shuddering slightly.

"Everyone confirmed about the plan?" Robin asked quickly. The others nodded sharply, focused on the task at hand. "Alright. Titans, Go!"

They ran at the creature as one until it shot out a clawed hand, forcing them to separate as it's fist smashed into the ground, shattering the concrete.

"Remember, you can't touch it's main body!" Robin yelled, un-clipping some freeze disks and hurling them at the creature. It spared them a passing glance as it lashed out at Raven, fully focusing on collapsing her telekinetic shield she'd conjured. The disks sailed straight through it without damage, instead colliding on the side of the building opposite. It roared as it's face absorbed into the main body and re-appeared to whip it's tongue around Cyborg's leg behind it, dragging him upside-down into the air.

"Hey-! I thought this thing wasn't solid!" He yelled, bending up and grabbing the tongue with his hands, then squeezing as hard as he could. It roared in pain, releasing immediately and sending him crashing to the floor as Starfire rained several starbolts at the creature from above. The majority of them passed straight through it, demolishing the road beneath, but one or two struck solid matter- the tongue and face- of it. She immediately flew aside as a large, open clawed hand slowly grew out and slashed at her.

"Gnngh-! It seems like it can be solid or not whenever it chooses!" Raven grunted, wincing at having to keep her shield up under the onslaught of the mindless limbs it still had punching at her.

"Guys!" Beast Boy yelled, standing away from the main battle. "Now?" Robin jumped aside and slashed through the wrist of an arm that had shot at him before turning towards Beast Boy.

"Alright, NOW!" he yelled, jumping back as it grew another clawed hand and slashed at him. Beast Boy quickly shifted into a pterodactyl, and, digging his claws into the cracked concrete, started flapping as hard as he could at the creature. As each burst of wind came, the creature's continuous growl increased in pitch and volume each time it's main body was partly dispersed and then re-assembled, turning it's face to roar at Beast-dactyl.

This was just what Raven needed for her part. She summoned a large part of the collapsed building wall, rolling it round into a funnel, wide end towards Beast-dactyl, so the air, which had been coming in bursts, turned into a steady stream, which slowly inched creature towards the awaiting Cyborg and the upgraded capsule. It roared in resistance, trying ferociously to get towards Beast-dactyl, but a few starbolts in it's face blinded it enough for the suction of the upgraded canister to take hold of it, dragging it, roaring, into the main body of it.

It sank it's claws into the road in a futile effort to resist, gouging long claw marks into the surface, but, after a few seconds, the last whisps of it were sucked into the machine.

"…whoa-yeah!" Beast Boy cheered after reverting to human, punching a fist into the air. "That was the fastest we've ever captured a bad-guy!"

"You're right…" Robin frowned, walking towards the canister, neatly slotted into a box-like machine with a long tube on the end. He squatted down beside it, narrowing his eyes at the glass of the canister, now full of swirling, off-white gas.

"So…" Raven asked, glancing up at Cyborg. "That thing isn't going to escape anytime soon…?"

"Not if I had anything to do with it!" Cyborg said proudly, putting a free fist on his hip and patting the top of the machine with his free hand. "I've double and triple checked the air-tightness of it- That thing's goin' nowhere!"

"Looks like the T-car's got some competition…" Beast Boy snickered, elbowing the nonplussed Raven in the side. Starfire grinned slightly at Cyborg's frown, and knelt down next to Robin to peer at the canister.

"Friend Robin, you seem troubled at the speed of our victory." She said, glancing between him and the gas. Robin sighed, putting a hand on his knee.

"Yeah, a bit… It's like… I dunno, it was holding back on us somehow… For example, when it was attacking Raven, it punched at her. What kind of monster punches when it has claws like- like… Star?" He asked her, as she was staring intently at the gas, a frown on her face. She turned back quickly, blushing slightly.

"Oh! Forgive me, but I was distracted by the shapes formed by the gas… It seemed to resemble…" She paused, looking away. "Never mind, it is foolish…"

"No, go on. It looked like…?"

"Well… It seemed to resemble… the face of a human female…" She said, pointing her index finger at the glass.

It took him a few seconds to realise what she had actually said.

"…pardon? What do you mean…? 'the face of a human female'…?"

"I… did say it was foolish…" She giggled nervously, her cheeks tinting slightly redder.

"What're you guys mumblin' about?" Beast Boy wondered aloud, leaning over the top of the canister to peer down on them from above.

"Star thought she saw a face in the gas." Robin said simply, not wishing to embarrass her further.

"Really? Cool! Hey, guys!" He called back to the other two, moving round and squatting between Robin and Starfire. "This thing's a living 'Magic-Eye' puzzle!"

He narrowed his eyes at it, humming under his breath as he stared at it.

He blinked when it stared back.

* * *

Ha! The evil ciffie! Does anyone recognise the plotline? 


	2. A situation complication

Hope you like it so far! I enjoyed writing this next chapter, I must say. I just hope you enjoy reading it... Heh... (Sweatdrop)

Edit: Sorry if you're getting the alert twice, but it doesn't seem to have been sent out the first time... Hmm.

* * *

"Ghagh-!" Beast Boy yelped, throwing himself backwards from the capsule as the others gave him looks of surprise. He pointed a shaking finger at it. "It looked at me!!!" 

"…Beast Boy, how can it look at you? It's a tube of smoke." Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um… Hah! How can it fight us, it's a tube of smoke(?!)" He shot back, grinning up at her.

"Enough." Said Robin, looking back at the capsule. He narrowed his eyes at it, but all he could see was swirling mist. "Are you sure it looked at you?" He added, glancing at Beast Boy.

"Positive!"

"Hmm…" he mused, looking back to the capsule. "(Could it…? It's worth a shot…)…hello?" He said to the tube.

Silence. The others exchanged looks of puzzlement.

"Hello?" he repeated, feeling slightly foolish.

Silence.

"If there's anything in there that can understand me, could you please answer?"

"Um… Rob?" Cyborg whispered, leaning in and talking behind a raised hand. "(You're creepin' us out…)"

"(…hello?)" A thin, wavering voice replied from somewhere in the tube. Robin's eyes widened as Cyborg did a double take.

"Hello?" Robin said quietly, leaning in to look more closely at the tube.

It remained silent, the mist swirling under the thick plastic.

Robin glanced up and back towards the fight sight. The clean up crews were finished removing the larger pieces of rubble, but were casting curious glances towards the group.

"Let's get it back to the tower to check it out." Cyborg suggested, slightly creeped out by the talking fog-bank. Robin nodded in agreement.

* * *

Half an hour later, after helping out a bit with the clean up, they sat round a table, minus Cyborg, the canister in the middle, in silence. It lasted about a minute, until Beast Boy, glancing from side to side, said "Well?" 

"Well what?" Robin replied, not taking his eyes off the tank.

"Why are we sat here lookin' at this thing?"

"Guarding it."

"Guarding-!? What's it gonna do? Go 'wschhhhhh' at us?"

"Do you want that thing to go monster on us again?" Raven spoke up, raising an eyebrow at Beast Boy. He hesitated, glancing back to the tank again, a worried look on his face, before finally sitting back down again, folding his arm in a huff. "I thought so."

"But, why are we not simply returning the cylinder to the severe-looking major?" Starfire asked, glancing at Robin. "Surely his research facility would not want to waste time whilst we keep this here?"

"I've had a word with the Major," He replied, narrowing his eyes to slits as he thought the canister wobbled slightly. "And… (No, I thought not…) he's willing to let us examine it, but only for 12 more hours, and then we 'must' return it to them." He sat back, folding his arms. "Also, he doesn't like us."

"What?"

"The Major. He doesn't like us."

"He has told you this?" Starfire frowned, remembering his rudeness to her beforehand.

"He didn't need to, I can tell. He hates depending on anyone younger than himself. Did you see the way he shouted at the private during the initial contact? And his eye twitched when he admitted needing us. Classic signs of dislike." He glanced up as the double doors slid open and Cyborg walked in, a small bunged test-tube clenched in his massive hand.

"Nothin'." He said simply, walking over to the table and placing the gas-filled test tube on the tabletop.

"…what? What do you mean, nothing?" Robin asks, frowning in confusion.

"Nothing. There's nothing odd about the gas at all. It's just average air with a few bits of dust in it. Inert. Lifeless." He summed up, frowning at the test tube.

"(…that's because it's away from the source…)" Somebody said. Robin looked to Cyborg. Cyborg, frowning, looked to Robin. Everyone else looked at everyone else. No-one had said anything about a 'source'.

"Um… Fellows…?" Starfire murmured, staring wide-eyed at the canister. They looked back at it, only for their jaws to drop off their faces in astonishment.

Leant up against the inside of the glass, barely 12 inches high, with streaks of opaque gas surrounding her, was a girl. She looked up at them, arms wrapped around her knees, her shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair hung loosely framing her face. Her tan-coloured trench-coat served to cover both the upper portion of her body, but was also long enough to cover her white jumpsuit-ed lower half if needed. She lifted a hand up and wiggled her fingers at them, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly into a sad smile.

"It doesn't have any life because I'm not in contact with it…"

"(Duuuuuuuude…)" Beast Boy gasped, leaning in so far his breath misted the plastic. She winced slightly, leaning away from him.

"Um… would you mind not doing that? I'm not a bug, you know."

"Oh, sorry…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"So…" The girl asked, looking up at them slightly fearfully. "What're you going to do to me?"

"Well…" Robin started, the first to get over the initial shock, leaning in slightly. "We were going to hand you over to the D.E.O, -"

"WHAT?!?" She shrieked loudly, whipping round and staring at Robin, quivering in terror. "You're working with them?!? Oh no! Oh, please don't give me to them! _Please!!_" she begged, tears brimming in her eyes, banging her fists on the plastic. "You have to let me out! You can't give me to them!! I don't know what they've told you, but you've _got_ to let me out!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Robin replied, leaning away again at this sudden outburst. "I said we _were_ going to hand you over, but they never said anything about you being- well, you, so we'll have to rethink the situation. Okay?" He added quietly, trying to calm the girl down.

She stared at him; open mouthed, breathing heavily as she took the new information in. After a second or two, she sat back on her heels, taking slow breaths, wiping her cheeks.

"(S-sorry…)" she stuttered, glancing around. "(I-I just… I can't go back there…)"

"Please, tell us," Starfire asked gently, concern on her face. "Why does the 'deo' trouble you so?" She drooped her head, looking away.

"(I've been in one of their compounds for 16 years… They kept me in an airtight room and 'observed' me, as they called it. That's all I've ever known. That, and they wanted to know how to replicate my powers…) At first, I thought there was no way out, so I never attempted an escape, but as I grew older, I realized that my room wasn't so airtight, so I kept sneaking out without them knowing."

"That's when I learnt that I wasn't the only one with powers there…There were lots of us… At least a hundred, mostly kids, but a few adults, all scared and sad, and being… tested… I… I saw a few of them being… It was… They… (…just bad…)" She shivered as she spoke.

"Unfortunately, they found out that I knew… they said I knew too much… they were going to send me to the WABE, where subjects… disappear to… Worse things happen there… They said that no one can find out what I know… I gave them my word I wouldn't tell, but they…"

"…please…" she said quietly, looking up at them without moving her head, a defeated tone in her voice. "…they'll do… (Bad things…)" The Titans looked up and at each other, waiting for one to speak.

"(What d'you think?)" Robin asked them, glancing to Starfire to start round the table.

"(She does seem sincere in her need for our assistance, and the 'deo' did not tell us the full nature of her… Also, she did not hurt us when we battled her…)"

"(Y'know, I'm not so sure guys… Hey, don't get me wrong!)" Beast Boy added, holding a warning finger up. "(She's nice and all, but didn't that Major guy tell us that the monster we were after could change shape?)"

"(For once, I'll have to agree with him.)" Raven said, nodding her head. "(She seems fine, but there's no definite proof of her story. If the gas creature we were told about is smart enough to escape the D.E.O, isn't there a chance…?)"

"(I think her story's clean.)" Cyborg finished. "(She _did_ explain why the sample we took was just air. And on that, did you guys see any of the D.E.O guys do any precaution work? No evacuation, no environment suits- there was somethin' they weren't tellin' us.)"

"(I'm with Cyborg; there's no proof that she wanted to hurt us, was there?)" Robin surmised. "(Alright, I say we-)" he froze mid-sentence, looking at the canister. "Where'd she go…?" The others glanced down to see an empty canister in the middle of the table. They hurriedly got to their feet and frantically looked around for any sign of her.

"(Over here…)" They looked towards the couch in unison to see her sat on the edge of the back, gently swinging her legs back and forth, looking at them sadly through her fringe, whisps of opaque gas gently swirling round her.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Looks like you tube wasn't completely airtight, huh?" Beast Boy joked, elbowing Cyborg in the side. He replied with a smack round the back of the head.

"…you could have escaped at any time, couldn't you?" Robin said slowly. She nodded as they came towards her.

"Then why didn't you?"

"I… I wanted you to trust me… to believe me…" She glanced up at Robin and Starfire took a seat next to her. "I… I really need your help… and… a-and I need some friends… I'm… I'm sorry for… Y'know, attacking you earlier, but… I was scared…"

"Do not fret." Starfire said sympathetically, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You are- eep!" She started slightly as her hand slid right through her. "Erm… You are with us now…"

"At least for the time being…" Raven hesitantly reminded them, nodding towards the clock, which showed less than an hour until the return of the canister.

"Don't worry; we'll figure something out…" Robin promised, frowning to himself. "D'you have any idea what they might do…?"

"(I know exactly what they're planning…)" She said quietly, a slight quiver of fear in her voice. "They always threatened me with it in case I ever thought of escaping beforehand… Wh-when you turn me over to them… they'll say that he's mixing me with oxygen to calm me down… but…" She hesitated, bottom lip quivering. After breathing a steady breath, she forced herself to continue. "…but it'll really be potassium chloride… it'll r-render me…" She hung her head and mumbled the last word.

"(Render you what…?)" Starfire asked quietly, dreading the answer.

"(…inert…)"

"(Um… Inert?)" Beast Boy asked tentatively, glancing around.

"(She means… dead.)" Raven replied out of the corner of her mouth.

"(I-I… I can't…)" She whispered, tears welling in her eyes. Her voice choked as they rolled down her face, and she quickly hid her face in her hands, crying in despair.

"(Hey, hey… calm down…)" Robin said softly, taking her by her upper arm. "(Listen, we're-?!)" He cut off as his hand passed straight through her.

"Guys, this is gettin' serious." Cyborg said, glancing towards the clock again. "We can't hand her over to them, they're just gonna… Y'know…"

"But we can't keep her here- The D.E.O'll come looking for her, and probably try and arrest us in the bundle." Raven frowned, looking to Robin. "So… what do we do?"

The others turned to look at Robin as well, expectantly. Robin remained silent, frowning to himself, and then glanced at the weeping girl beside him. She lowered her hands slightly to look up at him, her eyes red from crying, sniffing slightly. He looked at the floor in front of his feet, mumbling to himself for a few seconds, before looking up.

"Alright… I've got an idea…"

* * *

XD Got you interested...? 


End file.
